tween – THORNBERRY

sewing, teen, tween

Another pair of Kwik Sew 3605

I think that Kwik Sew 3605 is the best pattern out there for girls/teens bathers – I first used it over ten years ago. If you didn’t know already, Kwik Sew have now gone out of print (sob) so it looks like this pattern will now only be found on the second hand market. I bought extra copies a few years ago to use as my daughters grew. This is probably the last time I’ll be able to sew it for either of my two daughters; this pair is at the top of the size range.

Another fit photo from January! The fabric was in my stash, and Stella didn’t get a great deal of say in what I used. My swimsuit fabric stash contains prints and only one or two solids. I sewed the XL for Stella, which is a girl’s size 12-14. She’s around a women’s size 6, and it seems to fit.

The clip closure at centre back allowed me to fine-tune the fit around Stella’s rib cage before sewing it in place. The bottoms are fully lined, as are the cups of the top.

This is actually a relatively straightforward pattern to sew, although I might be saying that because I’ve had so much experience with it. The bottoms legs and waist are elasticated, as is the band for the top. This is the first time that I’ve made the view B bikini top; in the past I sewed the longer view A tankini top. My girls have always wanted the view C bottoms, not the higher cut view D.

You can find the previous versions I’ve sewn here and here and here. We are fortunate that Clare and Stella’s eldest cousin has a daughter who is ten years younger than Clare and is the happy recipient of everything that my two grow out of. Most of these bathers are getting a second outing (bathers often wear out but some of these past pairs were still in good nick). The handover of clothes is slowing down a bit now that my two don’t really grow out of things, but I’ve loved being able to pass my home sewn things on and either see them worn again or know that they’ve been further redistributed.

Wednesday, 27 April, 2022Tuesday, 26 April, 2022 by thornberry

sewing, teen, tween, vintage patterns

vintage Style 2191 skirt

Stella’s style has been evolving over the past year. Last October she requested a black flared skirt with a fitted waistband and belt loops.

Goodness, Stella looks quite different now in comparison to these photos from ten months ago! Anyway, she says that this skirt was really the first item in her current wardrobe (now predominantly black, grey, denim, a bit of white and some very small doses of colour; very little made by me). I dived into my pattern stash and found Style 2191. This is a pattern that often pops up at the op shop; despite it being a children’s pattern it’s mostly the waist measurement that needs to be fitted; the style ease is pretty forgiving to other body measurements.

I sewed view 4, the shorter flared style without a lower ruffle. The fabric is a black stretch woven from deep stash, probably from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 table once upon a time. A non-stretch would have been better, but this still worked out okay. There’s a centre back seam zip. Not installed as well as it could be; I usually use invisible zips for this type of application (but this was sewn during second lockdown so I used what I had). There’s also a vintage button as a waistband closure.

This has been worn a bit although it’s probably longer than she’d like. Teenage skirt preferences seem rather short at the moment.

It’s just hemmed on the machine. Really, this isn’t my most outstanding piece of sewing, but it’s wearable. When I made it I wasn’t even sure that it would ever be worn (I was wrong). The top she’s wearing with it was sewn for Clare ages ago.

Sunday, 22 August, 2021Tuesday, 14 September, 2021 by thornberry

adult's clothing, George and Ginger, sewing, teen, tween

Shorts and top for Stella

I am in a couple of Facebook groups run by pattern designers. One of them is for George and Ginger patterns. I often find styles there that work well for my daughters. Recently they were testing the Heat Wave shorts pattern to improve the draft before re-release, and I put my hand up to give it a go in the smallest teen size for Stella.

These shorts are designed to be sewn in knit fabrics. I had a length of Liverpool knit that came to me via Restash, but I think was originally from Lush Fabrics and came to the original owner via a Frocktails goodie bag! I’m glad that it eventually made it’s way to me.

This fabric has a nice crepe type of texture, and is a nice mid-weight. It’s also very stretchy. As per the pattern page for the Heat Wave Hot Pants, the most popular types of fabrics for these shorties are 2-way heavyweight knit with structure, such as ponte, Liverpool and cotton lycra. However, any knit fabric with at least 50% stretch will work.

The shorts rely on the fabric stretch for fitting. There are darts in the front and back for shaping, and optional pockets in the front. There are two options for the waistband width. They pull on – there are no fastenings or even elastic. Fabric choice is vital to make these work! Many of the testers had some issues with pocket gaping, but we didn’t consider it to be problematic considering the nature of the garment – a knit, pull-on short.

There was enough fabric left over to sew a simple top. I already had the Pattern Emporium Unwind top printed and taped in Stella’s size, so cut and sewed it up in the cut on short sleeved version. You can probably guess how fast this top was to make! All construction was on the overlocker, with the sewing machine used for hems and to secure the neckband seam allowances.

I think that we’re still unsure as to whether this is a summer outfit or a pair of summer pyjamas! Either way, both pieces are comfortable and easy to wear either together or mixed with other wardrobe items (no matter what time of day).

Thursday, 17 September, 2020Sunday, 27 November, 2022 by thornberry

adult's clothing, kids clothing, sewing, teen, tween

Pattern Emporium Unwind sweater

After sewing Clare’s french terry top, I couldn’t be bothered folding up the fabric and putting it away. Height of laziness! There was still plenty, and it seemed logical to use up some more.

The recently released Pattern Emporium Unwind Sweater-Jumper-Hoodie pattern seemed to be an obvious choice to pair with lightweight french terry. From the pattern website: Sweater, jumper*, sweatshirt, windcheater, sloppy-joe or pullover. Whatever you want to call it, the Unwind is pure comfort. It’s so easy going & relaxed you’re going to want to wear one all the time, in #allthefabrics and #allthestyles. And one of the best things… when it comes to choosing fabrics, there really isn’t a right or wrong. She works in both 2-way & 4-way stretch. Winter & Summer. Everything about the Unwind is relaxed: the fit, the cuffs and the hem band. All are designed to hang & move freely on the body unlike the more hugging band styles that you may be more familiar with. *AUSSIE TRANSLATION: In Australia we refer to a ‘sweater’ as a jumper. A ‘sweatshirt’ is called a sloppy joe, windcheater & even jumper. Universally, a hoodie is a hoodie.

Easy fit batwing shape.
Body & sleeve all in one.
4 Necklines – crew, relaxed, turtle, hood.
3 Sleeves – cuffed long & 1/2 sleeve, short sleeve.
Relaxed cuff & hem band.
3 Lengths – cropped, hip & long length.
Designed for stretch knit fabrics.
Regular & tall cutting lines.
Trans-seasonal.
Lots of pattern hack/mash options.

Unwind sweater line drawing

When this pattern was first released I thought ‘nah, I have a million relaxed top patterns in my stash’. Turns out that I had room for a million and one more. I think that a clincher for me was the size range – this one starts at teen size 4, and goes up to size 24. The size 4 was perfect for Stella.

Stella chose the long cuffed sleeve version, at the cropped length. As you can see it’s not super cropped – rather, it’s just below the waist. She also wanted the plain crew neckline (I suggested the hoodie, but was outvoted). This was incredibly fast to sew, as you’d imagine. Front and back shoulder seams, neck band added, side seams sewn, hem band and sleeve cuffs added. I did remember to have her try on the top for sleeve length before adding the sleeve cuffs, and had to cut about two inches off the sleeve length.

I used the overlocker for construction, but as per usual used my sewing machine to topstitch down the seam allowances to add some detail and structure. In this case it included alongside the shoulder/sleeve seam. I also popped a little Kylie and the Machine label into the side seam.

And then there’s the transfer! This is another iron-on transfer from Spotlight (you can buy them online; no need for an ‘essential’ in-person visit to the shops at the moment). I followed the instructions to iron it on with a decent amount of pressure, and it’s stood up nicely to a couple of trips through the washing machine since. These transfers really are a nice way to ‘fancy’ up an otherwise very plain garment.

After sewing this top, there was still french terry left over that I couldn’t be bothered folding up and putting away……

Thursday, 16 July, 2020 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing, teen, tween

True Bias Rio Ringer tees

I kicked off my May nojourn (since I couldn’t actually go away to Sewjourn) sewing a tee for Clare. I chose the True Bias Rio Ringer tee, as Clare likes retro styled garments. I had some soft knit scraps that were large enough for a teen sized tee, so sewed up a muslin in size 0, graded up to size 4 through the hips.

It looked to fit great through the shoulders and the body, but Clare said that it gave her a major underarm wedgie. Size 0 armhole depth was definitely not enough! So I ferreted through the stash again and found some more soft knit scraps, then reprinted and retaped the pattern. This time I sewed 4 length/armhole depth and hip width, with a size 0 shoulder width and bust/waist.

It fits well, with no armpit wedgie! Hooray!

I really like the sleeve and neck band technique on this tee. It does require rib knit – I used chocolate brown for the first tee that I made, and green rib knit for this one. As with many things, having quality rib knit really helps! I suspect that these are both from Crafty Mamas Fabrics (they’ve both been in stash for a little while). You need rib with excellent recovery for this to sit as it should.

From the True Bias website: The Rio pattern is a ringer style T-shirt and casual dress. View A is a fitted top that hits around the hip. View B is a semi-fitted dress ending just above the knee. Both views have contrasting ribbing around the crew neckline and short sleeves for a slightly vintage look. Suggested Main Fabrics: Light to medium weight knit fabrics with 40% or more stretch such as cotton interlock, T-shirt jersey, and merino wool jersey. Suggested Binding Fabrics: Light to medium weight knit fabrics with 75% or more stretch such as rib knit.

Rio Ringer tee line drawing

Fortunately for me, the first attempt at this tee was not a wasted garment – there is a slightly smaller teenager in the house!

The mostly size 0 is just fine for Stella, who is a fraction shorter and smaller overall than her older sister, but with a very similar shape. She’s actually worn this quite a lot, as she particularly likes the soft fabric.

You might recognise the fabric for both of the tees – it’s from Darn Cheap Fabrics, and I used it for these Jalie tees.

These are quick to sew (unsurprisingly – they’re a basic tee!) and now that I’ve got the fit right for each daughter and have practiced sewing the rib trim, I will be able to sew up plenty more in fabric that is more to their choosing. They don’t necessarily want to be matchy-matchy with their dad!

Tuesday, 30 June, 2020 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing, teen, tween

Kami skirt for Clare

Short tiered skirts are in all the teen shops at the moment. Every time Clare points them out, I say ‘I could sew that’. Then I procrastinate, because I know I’ll need to figure out lengths and proportions and sometimes thinking is hard. But as it turned out, I didn’t have to do any mental gymnastics, because (unsurprisingly) there is a tutorial for exactly the sort of skirt that Clare wanted.

The tutorial is called the Kami Skirt, and it’s from a blog called The Hemming. She provides the measurements for Australian sizes 6 (60cm waist) to 16 (85cm waist). I used the size 8 measurements as a guide for Clare.

This is another Borneo souvenir garment! Clare chose this printed cotton (actually, it feels as though it has some viscose content as it’s quite soft) at Fabriko in Kuching. Once again I took advantage of the border print by cutting the lower tier on the crossgrain. I used the full length of the fabric we’d bought, which was less than the pattern suggestion, but it still worked out okay. It just means that the lower tier in Clare’s skirt is less full than that in the tutorial. Still seems to have an adequate level of twirl and swish!

Rather than roll hemming the skirt, I chose to do folded and stitched hems. It’s always slightly awkward to attach the lower tier on the outside of the top tier to create the little frill – you need to make sure that it’s overlapped evenly right along. I’d turned a hem, so that also formed a ‘line’ that I could feel so that I could line it up evenly.

It’s one piece wide elastic in the waist, sewn through to give the appearance of three channels. The tie is just for decoration – it’s non-functional. It took me four episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to cut out and sew this skirt, and I think it would be even faster to sew a second time. But how many of these skirts does a teen need in her wardrobe? I’m not sure.

The top that she’s wearing with the skirt was bought in Kota Kinabalu, at E-teen (like Supre). I can’t claim credit for sewing the top, just the skirt.

Friday, 7 February, 2020 by thornberry

family, sewing, teen, tween

Style Arc Bonnie top and Clare pants

As well as sewing Clare pants for Clare, I sewed a pair for Stella, and paired it with a Style Arc Bonnie top in the same fabric for the look of a jumpsuit without the impractability.

I reviewed the pants extensively in my previous blog post. For Stella I reprinted the pattern and sewed size 4, the smallest size. Once again I shortened the leg length about two inches before cutting out.

This pattern works equally well on Stella as it did on Clare. It’s interesting sewing for the two of them at the moment. Genetics are strong! They’re pretty much the same shape, with Stella a couple of inches shorter and just one size smaller all over. Stella did her growing at a much earlier age than Clare did, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the two are pretty much the same height and sizes in about another year or two.

The fabric is from Darn Cheap Fabrics. It’s a textured rayon, in a blue-green (teal?) colour that really suits Stella. Unfortunately the textured, more open-weave areas do catch very easily and tear, as we discovered the first time she wore the pants when she climbed a tree (she is still twelve)! I had enough scraps to patch it, but have spotted quite a few pulls in various places after subsequent wears.

So, on to the top! It’s a modification of view B of the Style Arc Bonnie woven top. This is another pattern that I bought in the multi-sized version, because I reckon that I am likely to sew it multiple times for multiple people.

From the pattern website: This wonderful new pattern comes with two options; A & B. Pattern “A” Features a slightly cropped body length, relaxed fit with bust darts. With a round neck and a functional back opening that can be buttoned this sleeveless top is the up to the moment look. For those that prefer a more covered garment there’s option “B”. Featuring a square shaped body and dropped shoulder line with an optional buttoned tab. The body length is longer and has a buttoned back, round neck as option “A”. FABRIC SUGGESTION: Linen, crepe, cotton, rayon.

bonnie-woven-tops

Stella didn’t want the buttons down the back, or on the shoulder tabs. This was an easy change – I just folded the back pattern piece to the centre back (where the buttonholes were marked) and cut the back piece on the fold. I made a corresponding modification to the back neckline facing. This style decision also made it an extremely fast garment to sew. No buttonholes or buttons – the shoulder tabs are just stitched in place.

I sewed size 4 for Stella, so you can see that this is a very roomy style.

Stella wore this outfit to our Christmas Day celebrations. She seemed cool and comfy in it, plus the pants have the all important pockets in which to stash her Christmas present – her first iPhone.

As it turned out, we all wore something sewn by me on Christmas Day – and so did Mum!

I thought that some of you might like to see this next photo of my parents (Dad is ninety-two), my brother and I, and the two granddaughters. We’re a small family (in numbers as well as in height), and we really span the ages. Dad was eighty when Stella was born! After this photo was taken we headed to an extended family lunch, where there were forty of us – Mum’s siblings and their partners, all the children of the next generation (my cousins) and their partners, then all of the generation below who range in age from two to twenty-two. Quite an achievement to get us all together from three different states and many different cities. My daughters each have a second cousin very close to them in age and it was beautiful to watch them interacting with one another and finding common interests.

Sunday, 2 February, 2020 by thornberry

George and Ginger, sewing, teen, tween

The grade six graduation dress

It’s been a big year for our family (although I suspect that I say that every year). Stella finished primary school last week, and one of the final events of the year was the grade six graduation evening. Which of course required a special mummy-made dress!

Stella chose the George and Ginger Starstruck bodice, with the high-low skirt from the Mix It Up dress. I was dubious about it at first, but in the fabric and colourway that Stella chose it was just perfect for her! At twelve years old, it can be difficult to land on styles that are age-appropriate, fit nicely, and fulfill the vision in a tween’s head. In the end this dress ticked all the boxes.

From the pattern website: The Star Struck is an add-on bodice to our best-selling Mix It Up pattern–it works with all of the fabulous skirts in the MIU! This fitted, push-up bodice features a star-cage style and a flattering waistband. Leave off the cross straps for a completely different look…or add lace or trim for unique detailing! No matter how you sew it, it’s a stunner! This pattern DOES include one simple peplum skirt to make it a stand alone design. But feel free to try it out with all of the skirt options in the Mix It Up–or get creative and add your own skirt! Suggested fabric for this pattern is a stable knit with at least 50% stretch.

gg_star_struck_us_letter_pattern_page_01_740x

That part about the fabric stretch percentage recommendation is very important – you may remember an earlier blog post of mine where I wrote about salvaging a skirt from a failed dress due to incorrect stretch percentage! This time we chose a very stretchy performance knit from Spotlight as the main fabric. It worked beautifully.

As designed, the area at the bottom point of the star in the centre of the bodice is left open. This results in a dress that exposes quite a bit of cleavage – which looks great on all the adults I’ve seen in this dress, but isn’t so suitable for a twelve year old! And there was no way that she was interested in wearing it that way either. We filled in the centre point with a simple triangular shaped insert sewn behind it.

The bodice is all double layered, including the midriff section. This means that the seams are all enclosed and it’s comfortable to wear. I sewed the contrasting scraps in a viscose/spandex knit that I had somewhere in my stash. I tried the bodice on to get the strap length right before I sewed them in place, but as it turned out they did stretch out a bit during the evening (with lots of vigorous dancing in the disco they had after the graduation dinner). No wardrobe malfunctions, but I’ll need to shorten them a little more. The straps are four layers and are cut against the direction of stretch, so would generally be quite stable, but this fabric has a bit more spandex in it so they had more give.

We really like the shape of the back neckline too! The whole dress is in tween size 12 for Stella. I made the high-low skirt four inches longer than the pattern piece, which was really for a peplum. There are no seams in the skirt, and the hem was left raw, which works for this fabric. Much of the construction was on the sewing machine, with the overlocker used just for side seams and for attaching the skirt to the bodice. The instructions for sewing this bodice are very clear and easy to follow, and there’s also a tutorial on Youtube.

Of course, the name Stella means ‘star’ – so the star shape on the bodice really was perfect for Stella! We also discovered at the graduation ceremony that Stella hopes to be an actor or a singer or a dancer one day – so it’s very appropriate in that way too. As it happens, Stella is quite talented in those areas (her singing voice has developed beautifully) so who knows what she will end up doing one day!

We’re so proud of our girl – she’s such a unique character, with so much love, empathy and kindness in her. Her smile really does light up a room. Here’s to the end of primary school, and to a wonderful time in secondary school next year!

Tuesday, 24 December, 2019Sunday, 27 November, 2022 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing, teen, tween

Pattern Emporium Harem pants

Some readers may have picked up on my comments about our forthcoming trip to Borneo. We leave in only five days, hooray! Borneo has lots of jungle, and lots of jungle has lots of insects. The girls needed some cool summer pants that would keep both sun and insects off their legs.

I turned to Pattern Emporium again and used their women’s Harem pants pattern. There is also a kid’s version. My girls are small, but their waist/hip ratio means that the women’s patterns work better for them in bottoms than kids’ patterns do. I sewed size 6 for Stella and size 8 for Clare, which pretty much aligned with their measurements.

From the Pattern Emporium website:

2 Fits: Slimline & Relaxed
Tapered legs for a flattering fit
Full elastic waist
Elastic ankle finish
Easy fit
Low waistline
Pockets – 3 Easy Pocket Options, 2 Intermediate Pocket Options
2 Waistline Options – Elastic, Drawstring
3 Leg Finishes – Elastic, Lounge Pant, Tab Front

Pattern Emporium Harem Pants

We decided on style D, with the curved topstitched pockets and elasticised cuffs, in the slimline fit. I added two inches to the rise of the pants by extending straight up from the crotch and the side seams of the front and back leg pieces, and made the corresponding alterations to the pockets pieces as well. My girls don’t like to wear their clothes on their hips; they really prefer a high waist with the waistband where they are smallest. That’s a major change for Clare who spent her primary school years with everything pulled down onto her hips!

The fabrics are all rayon prints (all wovens) from Spotlight. Stella came with me to choose them. I am always fascinated by her choices – they’re not always predictable! I made sure that I prewashed all the fabrics before cutting out, as is my usual practice. Rayon shrinks. These were straightforward to sew, especially once I got to the fourth pair! The girls are happy with them, and I think that they will be perfect for the Bornean jungle.

Monday, 23 December, 2019 by thornberry

George and Ginger, sewing, teen, tween

George and Ginger With Love dress

I’m rather pleased that I discovered George and Ginger patterns. I haven’t sewn any for myself yet, but I love that the sizes start at tween. It makes them so useful when sewing for my daughters!

This dress was an impulse sew. I think that I had the pattern bought, printed, taped, cut out and sewn up in less than two hours from when I came across it. It’s the With Love Dress. Very simple and straightforward, easy to wear garment.

From the pattern website: With Love is a dolman style dress with a flattering elastic waistband. Perfect for spring and summer, it is a quick sew with stunning results! Dress and maxi length options, along with side vents on the maxi version. Suggest fabric for this dress is a 2-way lightweight jersey or rayon spandex knit for better drape. However, any knit fabric, including cotton lycra or sweater knit, with at least 50% stretch will work.

With Love dress line art

I chose to sew the tween 14 top, graded to women’s 0 through the waist and hips. We’re happy with the resulting fit, although it actually looks quite good on Stella too! Stella is basically the same shape and proportions as Clare, just one size smaller, so it’s roomier on her, but not so much that it’s too big. Clare wasn’t especially thrilled that it also fitted and looked nice on her four and half years younger sister….

As you’d imagine there isn’t much to this dress. Same pattern piece for the front/back skirt and same pattern piece for the front/back bodice, the front neckline cut deeper than the back. The neckline is finished wth a binding rather than a band, which is a neckline finish that I am becoming more and more drawn to. The waistline casing is formed by stitching the bodice and skirt together, running another line of stitching an inch further in, then pressing that up and topstitching it to the bodice while leaving an opening for elastic insertion. It’s drafted so that the waistline is fitted, without there being excess blousinesses.

The fabric was an op shop find, but I have been reliably informed that it is a rayon/spandex knit originally from Spotlight. Such a cute border print! Clare feels that this dress is a nice casual summer wardrobe addition. I suspect that I’ll sew another at some stage.

Saturday, 14 December, 2019Sunday, 27 November, 2022 by thornberry